PERSPECTIVES OF
A VERY GREAT LIGHT
Although the importance of the Bible cannot be overlooked by any sincere seeker of what is
true, the significance of the Bible does not lie in proof of the literal accuracy of its contents,
neither did the authors of the Bible intend that religions be devised from its concepts
nor that belief in the Bible should ever become canonized doctrine of self-supposed
saints. What is important to the authors of the Bible, are truth, individual and collective
freedom and the greater vision of Human and Civil Rights. This larger perspective of
mature kindness includes care for the sick and poor, environmental conscience and awareness,
personal and collective freedom, free public education for all, including the very poor and slow
of learning, striving for and spreading peace and goodwill and non-discrimination in nationality,
culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical, mental and other ability, wealth and/or
societal status. There is no such thing as ‘race’ based on Biblical principles nor true
scientific reality; both modern science and the Bible agree that all members of our species
originated from a common female ancestor, making us all of “one blood”, that is, we are all one
Human Race. ¹
Jesus, from true historical perspective, is not the founder of Christianity or any other
religion but rather, the founder of Human and Civil Rights. Although the terms “Human
Rights” and “Civil Rights” are relatively new, the foundation and principle concepts of Human
and Civil Rights clearly trace directly back to Jesus and both his ideas and his historical
importance cannot rationally be overstated or ignored. Judaism and Christianity and
especially the twisted dogma of modern conservative fundamentalism have nothing in common
whatsoever with either Jesus or the authors of the Bible. Jesus very clearly taught that
belief in religious doctrines and tradition and belief in the Bible itself ("scriptures") is not
what is important to the true God, ² who he referred to as “our father in heaven.” It
remains an open shame that the words and life of Jesus are not studied in America's public
school classrooms, the blame for which rests largely on those who portray him very wrongly as
synonymous with religion rather than correctly as the historical backbone of Human Rights, true
ethics and personal and collective freedom.
Other than simple concepts such as "father", "friend" and "love", there is virtually no
theology found in the teaching of Jesus, that is, almost no descriptive concepts of
God. According to Jesus, what is important to the true God is how we treat members of our
own species. Teachings and the specific actions of Jesus mainly center on how people
should treat other people. Much of the remainder addresses individual personal motivation
as opposed to outward religious piety and similar pretense. About one quarter of all words
attributed to Jesus are in radical opposition to conservative fundamental religionists, which
is one of the main reasons why he was crucified. The combined content and actions of Jesus
make him not only by historical default, the founder of Human Rights but also, a true political
and social revolutionary if there ever was one. According to Jesus, changing the planet
politically and socially both share a synonymous solution, beginning with change in the human
heart, one person at a time and extending outward toward our own and other species and the
planet as a whole. It is more than fair to consider Jesus the most radical individual to
ever walk on Planet Earth, his teaching and personal example encompassing the height and depth
and length and breadth of positive political and social revolution.
Much of the radical reality (and often sarcastic humor) of Jesus as readily perceived by
the Romans, religionists and "common people" of his day is lost on modern 21st Century Americans
who are not familiar with the historical context and customs of First Century
Palestine. Suffice it to say that opposed to most modern portrayals of him, Jesus was
almost entirely opposite of the white-robed, light-skinned, tall, mild-mannered, pious and often
handsome individual he is so often characterized as being. Jesus often used the natural
world to illustrate the invisible "kingdom of heaven". The overall portrait of him is of
one highly in tune with nature; he preferred the mountains and seaside to life in even the
smallest of towns and stated that a common flower is to be more appreciated than the greatest of
human edifices (a reverence for the natural world entirely foreign to his time and largely
unheard of even today). ³ He appears to have been a very great public speaker,
captivating audiences of up to fifteen or twenty thousand people for hours without a stadium or
theatre and the aid of modern electronic amplification. Though, according to the prophet
Isaiah he was not at all physically desirable, he had a very unusual ability to strongly attract
women of all societal status.
Jesus taught on both literal and symbolic levels, often using the natural world to
illustrate the invisible "kingdom of heaven". He is portrayed in the New Testament as an
extremely busy individual, something overlooked by most people, including most
scholars. Some of what he taught is bound up in cultural ‘common knowledge’ of the times,
such as his famous camel going through the eye of a needle comparison and thus, what he most
probably intended is often misinterpreted by modern priests and preachers to mean something
entirely different. Jesus was far more radical than most modern political and social
activists and by far the most liberal person who ever lived, an historical reality virtually
entirely lost on modern Western Judeo/Christian-tainted populations. He very deliberately
went against established tradition and just as deliberately, associated with the “sinners and
common people”, insisting that positively motivating the poor and common masses is the correct
way to bring positive political and social change to our planet. Jesus is undoubtedly the
most misinterpreted and misunderstood person in all of recorded history. (See Revolution and Revolution; Side B for more
information on the historical Jesus.)
The Bible may perhaps be best viewed as “perspectives of a very Great Light”. * The
authors of the Bible overwhelmingly agree that no one even remotely understands God and, rather
than disputing esoteric points of invented theologies, which serves no good purpose whatsoever,
it is best to dwell on what matters between God and our species in terms of proper understanding
and motivation toward loving one another and obtaining help from our Creator to do
so. Jesus, it would seem, viewed the pharisaic notion of belief in the Bible as just
another religious roadblock in the way of Human and Civil Rights. ² A consistent
theme of special caring for the sick, poor and downtrodden of society is found repeatedly
throughout both the Old and New Testaments, in particular with both the teaching and example of
Jesus. To "fear" God from true historical perspective is to become actively engaged in
helping the sick and poor. A nation that does not care for its sick and poor is a nation
that does not honor or fear the Creator and, according to both the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel
and the New Testament Jesus, a nation that will pay the ultimate price, accordingly. 4 As the
New Testament very clearly teaches, how can we pretend to love and honor God who we have not
seen if we do not care about our neighbor who we have seen?
According to Paul, one of the main authors of the New Testament, unlike either conservative
religionists or modern intellectuals apparently possess the necessary grace to
grasp, ** the Creator enjoys acting and creating in multifaceted dimensions, making the
people, places and events in the Bible both literally true and allegorically symbolic toward
illuminating greater lessons of the unseen worlds of motivation, spirit and soul. 5 Similar
to how a great author such as John Steinbeck (who frequently made use of Biblical history and
symbolism) crafts a story of fictitious people based on true events to underscore social problems
of capitalistic oppression, God uses real historical people and events to otherwise, symbolize
and illustrate truths regarding the invisible "kingdom of heaven". For example, the story
of Moses and the children of Israel escaping oppressive bondage in Egypt, wandering in the
wilderness and their offspring eventually entering "the promised land", along with isolated
incidents within the greater narrative, such as the worship of a golden calf and Moses striking
the rock, are both literal history and symbolic allegory illustrating struggles of the soul and
spirit. Unlike some of history's great authors, such as Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Steinbeck,
Bob Dylan 6 and
others, the Creator holds the advantage of being able to manipulate actual history by weaving
real historical people, places and events towards both an eventual literal historical "common
people" victory of "we shall overcome" and at the same time, as symbolic illustration being
profitable "for reproof, for correction [and] for instruction in righteousness". 7 ***
It is a serious mistake for a society such as that found in modern-day America to not
require children to have both a Biblical and an adequate Human and Civil Rights background as
educational prerequisites. It is not possible to be educated in even a rudimentary sense
of the word if one cannot comprehend fundamental ideas of Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Steinbeck, Twain
and a myriad of other authors who base their works on Biblical concepts and references and there
is no valid purpose for education if it is not firmly grounded on Human and Civil Rights
principles. On the contrary, knowledge without proper ethical motivation is highly
dangerous for both our own species and everything else that inhabits our planet, the development
of nuclear and biological weapons being a prime example. (See The Tree of Knowledge for
more information.) Most of American and world history, culture and literature cannot be
adequately understood without a solid Biblical background and indeed, it is not possible to
have even a remote grasp of human civilization and cultural diversity entirely, if one has not
studied all of the Bible carefully. There is no other collection of writings reflected so
diversely in the works and ideas of famous authors, philosophers and political and social
thinkers, nor can there be any hope of important historical events and personages being
rationally understood without a comprehensive knowledge of Biblical literature and other
writings.
The fundamental message of the entire Bible overwhelmingly is that We The People Of Planet
Earth, that is, we as one race of human beings, must of necessity for survival of our offspring
and our own persons, move toward loving both our immediate and our planetary-wide brothers and
sisters as our own selves and move away from thievery, murder, war and all manner of human
oppression. As Jesus clearly taught, treating other people as we ourselves wish to be
treated is the sum of what matters: For this reason, we will not condemn and treat falsely,
we will not steal, we will not rape, we will not kill, we will not enslave and otherwise,
oppress other people and we will not pollute the fragile habitat of our children's
future. Most importantly, we must seek our Creator’s help to treat both other people and
our own selves in a positive manner; that is, we all need God’s HELP to “overcome”. 8 This
is not a message of religion but rather, the foundational message of Human and Civil Rights, an
ethical and moral way of life (called “The Way” by early followers of Jesus) and a mandate for
human survival. (See also The Way: A Theory of Root Cause and Solution.)
Based on what Jesus himself taught, it seems fair to conclude that belief in religion and
belief in the Bible and traditional 'doctrines' supposedly based on the Bible means nothing to
the Creator of our species. Having love, one for another, means everything to our Father
in heaven. 9 He or she who has an ear, let them hear: "I will give of the fountain
of the water of life freely to those who thirst. Those who overcome shall inherit all
things and I will be their God and they shall be my children." 10
Credits:
1. Modern biologists overwhelmingly agree that at the genetic level, there is no such thing as
race. Once again, modern science has finally caught up with what the Bible long ago
promoted as being true (see Random
Chance A-Z Primer of Science and the Bible for more information).
2. John 5:39
3. Matthew 6: 28-33 -- Note the depth of the wisdom of Jesus, who in a couple of
sentences in this sixth chapter of the first book in the New Testament is heard giving both the
greatest environmental statement and the most profound statement on faith in the history of
human civilization records, intertwined together into one great and yet, short and simple
lesson. Narrow-minded individuals who attempt to turn Jesus into a fundamental literalist
truly bring grave dishonor to someone who consistently spoke volumes of wisdom in short
sentences using simple allegorical stories and common symbols while producing concepts of very
deep meaning on several levels at the same time, simultaneously touching the hearts of the
simple, the complex and the prudent. One can read the words of Jesus many times over,
learning more each time from the same deceptively simplistic-appearing short stories, concise
sentences and simple words. Perhaps more than anyone in history who is revered as a
philosopher or teacher of truth, Jesus was not one to waste words (or time). As his
contemporaries concluded, “never a man spoke like this man.”
4. Matthew 25: 31-46; Ezekiel 16:49
5. See Galatians, Romans and other letters of Paul.
6. Even though Bob Dylan declines to publicly explain the meaning of his songs, he once stated
in an interview that some of them are written on more than one level. It is undoubtedly
correct to assume that if mere mortals such as Steinbeck and Dylan can create literature with
more than one level of meaning, then the Grand Designer of the universe would have little
trouble in going a step or two farther.
7. II Timothy 3:16
8. The entire idea and concept of “We Shall Overcome” is directly from the book of
Revelation in the New Testament and it is ludicrous to imagine that our children and the
rest of us can understand and grasp the importance and necessity of Human and Civil Rights
without knowledge of what the Bible contains. An education system that ignores the Bible
is a system entirely devoid of education.
9. John 15:8-17; see also Matthew 7:12 and Mark 12:28-31
10. Revelation 21:6-7 (pc)
*FootNote: Several complete versions of the Bible are available online at BibleGateway.com. The New King James Version is recommended as being perhaps, the most readable
somewhat reliable English text currently available. Apparently there are no existing
versions that are not biased from a particular perspective and it is advised that one avoid
versions favored by modern Evangelical Christians and other fundamentalists, as they tend to be
mistranslated toward conservative fundamental gross misassumption and baseless tradition at the
expense of the very liberal views of the various Biblical (especially New Testament)
authors. For more information, see Season, Credit #4.
**FootNote II: A somewhat self-contradictory segment of the modern American population
known as "Evangelical Christians", as well as even more conservative religionists, claim to
believe in the Bible and accept it "literally". Based on their political and other
actions, the truth is that the vast majority of these fundamentalists very much, pick-and-choose
what they literally practice. For example, most of them support war rather than literally
putting their sword in its place, they literally spend a great deal of time and money opposing
abortion, something Jesus never mentioned, and very little if any time actually helping the sick
and poor, which Jesus literally practiced constantly and, no matter how often neo-conservative
political scam artists practice the exact opposite of what Jesus literally taught regarding
capitalism, oppression and war and no matter how many times these totally corrupt Biblical
opposites literally screw the "common people" that Jesus claimed to love, these supposed
Biblical 'literalists' consistently and quite literally, vote them into office again and again,
anyway.
On the other side of Caesar's coin (so to speak), we find liberal socialists, anarchists
and similar political activists, who generally tend to accept that what Jesus taught as being
fundamentally correct, yet variously believe that the Bible is merely an allegory for ethical
exercise or otherwise, invented history and philosophy and that Jesus was somehow, entirely
wrong about the existence of God and evil. It quite literally strains all credibility,
logic and rationale to conclude that someone could be so completely right about Human Rights
and yet, so entirely wrong about God and evil.
***FootNote III: Nature is an adequate mirror of the multifaceted nature of the Creator, as the
extremely diverse design and coloration found in the flora and fauna of Creation has multiplexity
of purpose, including camouflage for survival, attraction for reproduction and artfulness of
design reflecting the Creator's glory. Our human ability to appreciate God's handiwork
reflected in a magnificent sunset and an intricate flower does not eliminate survival and other
reasons for coloration and design spread throughout creation, nor do camouflage and reproductive
purposes of design eliminate a Designer from the equation. The apparent fact that a great
many extremely myopic 'scientists' cannot seem to grasp even the simplest of evidentiary-based
logic indicating that just perhaps, the Grand Designer is capable of multiplicity of purpose
within grandness of design, does not diminish overwhelming observable evidence that any
school-age child could easily grasp---that is, could easily grasp if discussion of God were
freely allowed in our public classrooms as the Constitution clearly dictates should be the case
(see The Myth of
Modern Science, Of God and Monkey Business and The Tree of
Knowledge for more information).
|